shoulderpet Posted April 13, 2020 Author Share Posted April 13, 2020 (edited) Ok so I may be keeping the pickup in for a while at least for a bit longer, not being able to play music with bandmates due to the covid thing I was playing along to some music and the Wilkinson alnico pickup just has this gorgeous punch and fatness in the low mids,very Mike Mills from REM kind of P bass sound. I think going with some more aggressive pickups may sacrifice some of this quality so im going to give it some thoughy first. Anyone who is considering P pickups the Alnico Wilkinson WPB pickup is well worth consideration, don't be fooled by the price it is a decent pickup. Edited April 13, 2020 by shoulderpet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDaBass Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 (edited) On 12/04/2020 at 03:03, shoulderpet said: Juse purely out of curiousity has anyone played the Dimarzio split P pick (the rails one not the model P) ? Wondering what that pickup sounds like, always thought it was meant to be quite a smooth deep sounding pickup then I heard the bassist from Maxx Explosion using one and defintely doesnt sound that way but who knows what processing his bass goes through on the way to the amp Yup, I am a DiMarzio Split P Fanboi. I find they have a wider more powerful response. They are effectively two humbucking pickups and consequently provide much higher gain but are easily controlled. Great sound. Very versatile can emulate from Fender CS 60s to 70s and right through to modern hi fi. Edited April 14, 2020 by JohnDaBass Error Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted April 14, 2020 Author Share Posted April 14, 2020 (edited) 8 hours ago, JohnDaBass said: Yup, I am a DiMarzio Split P Fanboi. I find they have a wider more powerful response. They are effectively two humbucking pickups and consequently provide much higher gain but are easily controlled. Great sound. Very versatile can emulate from Fender CS 60s to 70s and right through to modern hi fi. Cool, what is their inherent tone like, I have seen them described as dark but the way that Dimarzio describe them makes them sound very modern, kind of brings to mid the Bartolini MK-1 pickups in the Ibanez SR range, I had an Ibanez with those pickups in and they had that kind of dark sounding but modern and smooth characteristic to them Edited April 14, 2020 by shoulderpet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamPlaysBass Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Not meaning to hijack the thread, but I’ve got some sound samples of the Entwistle PBXN compared to the standard Squier classic vibe precision pickup here. Just to help people out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted April 20, 2020 Author Share Posted April 20, 2020 Ok, curiousity finally got the better of me, the Wilkinson pickup sounds good however the bass tone I tend to go for is about as subtle as using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut so I figured something more aggressive was probably in order, having had a look at the available options I have gone for a Kent Armstrong Hot P Ceramic pickup, I recall reading some positive feedback on this pickup from @Paul S and it looks like the pickup is geared towards the bright and growly end of the spectrum so I though I would give it a try 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 Keep us posted on the KA, always nice to know how various Precision pickups sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 Ok, I have them fitted, on opening the package I was pleased to see a nice attractive cardboard KA branded box, makes a nice change from the cheap looking plastic boxes that some pickups are packaged in, the wires are cloth covered and waxed which makes fitting them a little easier, one gripe though is that the wire connecting the two pickup halves is way longer than it needs to be, the space under the control plate on my Jaguar bass seems to be quite cramped partly because the person who soldered the SPB-1 eons ago seems to have left the wires coming off the pots a bit on the long side, I am using the twisting the wires together and covering with electrical tape method of wiring up the pickups so I am not about to mess with what is already soldered. On fitting them I noticed that they seem to use the same colour coding as the Wilkinsons , I wonder if they are made for KA by the same company that makes Wilkinson pickups. Once wired up they sounded good, I was surprised that they were not as bright as I had heard, I would say they are probably similarly bright as the Wilkinson pickup but to be fair I have heard a couple of accounts of people being surprised at the Wilkinsons being fairly bright , also worth noting is that my bass amp is at my drummers place at the moment so my impressions are based on the tone through the (admittedly fairly crappy sounding) Amplug and my impression hearing it through a proper bass amp would likely be different. One thing for sure is this is definitely louder than the Wilkinson pickup, whereas the Wilkinson sounded low-ish output and sounded like it lost a lot with the Quarter pounder J pickup rolled off this sounds like the Quarter pounder J pickup is adding a little extra sizzle rather than dominating the tone, this pickup is not as loud as the Entwistle though and that pickup made the Quarter pounder J sound like a vintage output pickup. So all in all the KA adds a little extra muscle to the tone compared to the Wilkinson but its kind of like comparing different photographers taking a photo of the same thing at the same time, one of the photos may jump out more aggressively , one may be more muted but they are basically different flavours of the same thing. Another thing learnt is that there are some surprising gems to be found and also that cost is not necessarily any kind of indicator of quality when it comes to pickups, out of the pickups I have tried during this mass swap-out (Duncan SPB-1, Entwistle PBXN, Wilkinson Alnico and Ceramic, KA Hot Ceramic) the only one that I actually disliked the tone of was the Seymour Duncan SPB-1, the cheaper pickups were surprisingly good even the cheapest Wilkinson ceramic was at least fairly good and the other pickups all compare favourably to pickups from the more expensive brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 That's a lot of pickups in a little amount of time. I am not a fan of Seymour Duncan pickups, I've tried most models and they all sound fairly characterless to me. Another cheap brand I like which rival Wilkinson and Tonerider are Roswell. I think all three brands are made in Korea. Glad you like the KA's. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleat Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 I put a Tesla pickup in a P-Bass with maple board using the original 500k pots. It definitely produced the brightest and most aggressive tone I've got out a P-bass. 🎸 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 3 minutes ago, Bleat said: I put a Tesla pickup in a P-Bass with maple board using the original 500k pots. It definitely produced the brightest and most aggressive tone I've got out a P-bass. 🎸 Interesting, that is a name that doesnt come up that often Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 14 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said: That's a lot of pickups in a little amount of time. I am not a fan of Seymour Duncan pickups, I've tried most models and they all sound fairly characterless to me. Another cheap brand I like which rival Wilkinson and Tonerider are Roswell. I think all three brands are made in Korea. Glad you like the KA's. 👍 Yeah, the only Seymour Duncans I got on with with the Quarter pounders, the SPB-1 was all boom, no mids and the treble seemed kind of timid so basically they just sounded boomy and dark, very polite sounding too, no growl , I tried the SPB-2 a few years back and couldn't get rid of it quick enough, was like the mids were on full regardless of eq, also very smooth sounding, not cool growly mids and they seemed to wash out the low end, that being said when I tried them it was with flats so that may have been the issue, i would like to try them again to see if that was the issue but at £80 a set I dont really want to take the chance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleat Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 VR-B3, 11.2kohm Alnico V. I have had a Kent Armstrong before which I thought was a really nice sound, nothing like the Tesla, I suspect changing to 500k pots plays its part in producing the brightness though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 Anyhow I'm sticking with the Kent Armstrong pickup so if anyone wants the Wilkinson pickups I will be selling them, they are decent pickups but I am satisfied with the KA pickup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 Nice observations, I’m similar re the SD SPB-1, I just couldn’t get any definition from it at all, sounded to me like the tone control was fully off. Yuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted April 24, 2020 Author Share Posted April 24, 2020 45 minutes ago, Lozz196 said: Nice observations, I’m similar re the SD SPB-1, I just couldn’t get any definition from it at all, sounded to me like the tone control was fully off. Yuck. Glad its not just me, it was vintage sounding in the worst possible way and although they claim it is modelled after vintage Fender ive never played any Fender that sounded like that, would be great if I played dub reggae though 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbowskill Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 (edited) 5 hours ago, Lozz196 said: Nice observations, I’m similar re the SD SPB-1, I just couldn’t get any definition from it at all, sounded to me like the tone control was fully off. Yuck. Me too. Didn't care for it at all, and the spb-2.... Just louder mud. don't think I'll ever switch from the tonerider in my P bass now, bloody love it Edited April 24, 2020 by danbowskill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted April 24, 2020 Author Share Posted April 24, 2020 (edited) 18 minutes ago, danbowskill said: Me too. Didn't care for it at all, and the spb-2.... Just louder mud The SPB-2 I hated, mids, mids and more mids but it might have been that I was using flats at the time so what ever highs there were just got obliterated by the pickup, that being said the mids that were there were the wrong kind of mids, not the growly bitey kind of mids but more the 200-300hz ish region that most people try and avoid boosting Edited April 24, 2020 by shoulderpet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 They ain't loud but I love the sound of my Flea Jazz with vintage '64 pups... Even through y little Orange Crus 20W combo I can get some lovely sounds, recently discovered 'We Care a Lot' 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted May 7, 2020 Author Share Posted May 7, 2020 Ok so as I have a few days nefore i potentially am sent back to the office I have a spare Alnico and a Spare ceramic pickup and they are both inexpensive items I was thinking of as an experiment removing the ceramic bar magnet and putting it on the underside of the Alnico pickup and seeing what change (if any) in tone and output is, worth trying? This guy has had good results mixing different magnet types https://ironstone-guitar-pickups.co.uk/mixed-alnico-ceramic-magnets/ Apparently Dimarzio ultra jazz pickups have Alnico pole pieces with a Ceramic magnet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 9 hours ago, shoulderpet said: Ok so as I have a few days nefore i potentially am sent back to the office I have a spare Alnico and a Spare ceramic pickup and they are both inexpensive items I was thinking of as an experiment removing the ceramic bar magnet and putting it on the underside of the Alnico pickup and seeing what change (if any) in tone and output is, worth trying? This guy has had good results mixing different magnet types https://ironstone-guitar-pickups.co.uk/mixed-alnico-ceramic-magnets/ Apparently Dimarzio ultra jazz pickups have Alnico pole pieces with a Ceramic magnet Push your pole pieces down and stick 5mm neodymium magnets on top. Make even the most feeble pickups into weapons of mass destruction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osiris Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said: Push your pole pieces down and stick 5mm neodymium magnets on top. Make even the most feeble pickups into weapons of mass destruction. By this, do you mean use the neodymium magnets as an extension of the pole pieces? I.e. with the originals pushed further into (or out of the bottom of) the pickup, with the neos pushed up against them and acting as new pole pieces? Or push them down and place a neodymium magnet over the top of the (now flat) pickup? Or something else? The reason I'm asking is that I've just received an Entwistle PJ set and they're so good that I'm looking to turbo charge one of my other basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 2 hours ago, Osiris said: By this, do you mean use the neodymium magnets as an extension of the pole pieces? I.e. with the originals pushed further into (or out of the bottom of) the pickup, with the neos pushed up against them and acting as new pole pieces? Or push them down and place a neodymium magnet over the top of the (now flat) pickup? Or something else? The reason I'm asking is that I've just received an Entwistle PJ set and they're so good that I'm looking to turbo charge one of my other basses. Ah Basshopper. Follow this path to wisdom: Supercharge the Squier Jaguar Short Scale's J-Pickup 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osiris Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 Cheers, Stub, I'll see if I can find some suitably sized neodymium magnets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClassicVibes Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 These are pretty good: https://www.allegromusic.co.uk/shop/pickups/entwistle-pbx-p-bass-nickel-pole-piece-pickup/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-_T025Ci6QIVg4TICh30gQXEEAkYASABEgKWC_D_BwE Though the Neodymium version is even better... but now rare as hens teeth! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoulderpet Posted May 7, 2020 Author Share Posted May 7, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said: Push your pole pieces down and stick 5mm neodymium magnets on top. Make even the most feeble pickups into weapons of mass destruction. Cool, the pickup I have is a hot pickup but cant hurt to supercharge a bit more, does it matter if the pickup is ceramic or alnico? 5mm wide or thick? One of the reasons I couldnt use the Pbxn pickup is that it was just to big depth wise Edited May 7, 2020 by shoulderpet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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